What is work? Life is work, Dude! We come out fighting to breathe through air instead of water. Our Mother’s fight to get you out of their body in one fabulous piece is legendary and lengthy. Their effort is one serious commitment. A Father’s effort is deep. Their parents efforts are dedicated to you the grandchild. This is not just the work of love; it is also the work of financial dedication to family legacy with each life.
My Mummy worked for 33 years at the same place, her dream job, saving the mental lives of first responders and families. The police were her first love in her line of work, like helping a 40 year veteran of the sheriff’s department decompress from a harrowing armed stand off. Dad committed to two wars as a pilot: Vietnam and Korea. His Dad was also at West Point and engaged in the work of the military. What a brilliant career option for so many if you enjoy discipline and …work!
They worked to make my life better. I work hard now to honor their legacy as individuals. Hard working individuals, ahead of their time, teaching me by example in their own ways…thank you. I love to work. Their efforts as parents paid off and at every age I felt in control of my talent, my gifts, my ability to be inspired by a passion or a job turning that curiosity into a reality. Several solid careers later, life continues to inspire and perhaps I can continue to pay more forward to future generations. Work begets progress begets pride and happiness.
In 1932, 43,000 hard-working World War I veterans marched on DC as a way of requesting their bonus checks early. They were otherwise required to wait until 1945 for those checks for their hard work in WWI. The parade became a protest; the veterans and their families were dispersed over the next week. At that time, whole families would fight the fight together. Erecting camps and makeshift homes to go back to after their efforts. All of their shacks were burnt down, two died at the hands of police and the rest were forcibly removed from DC. Luckily their hard work did pay off and in 1936, Roosevelt’s veto was rejected by Congress and our military received their bonus 9 years early.
This is an example of what we are built on. Every moment we experience individually or collectively anywhere on this planet is the result of millions of hours of work. From the roads we drive on, to the water we drink, the air we breathe, the privileges available to us: food, transport, goods, medicine, and communications. The wars that have been fought, lost or won, futile or worthwhile, are a part of the foundations of every country and culture on earth. War is work. Death is work. Having children is work. Everyday begins with effort and ends with us working to get a good night’s sleep! Thanks to technology we can check to ensure our sleep was restorative. Life is work!
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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